On
Saturday,
September
22, 2007,
Macon native
Herbert Dennard received the NAACP’s most prestigious
honor, the Earl T. Shinholster Freedom Fund Lifetime
Achievement Award during the Freedom Fund Awards
breakfast held at Central
City
Park in
Macon,
Georgia.
Dennard, a
true humanitarian and civil rights activist, has been
instrumental in the progress of equality in
Macon since the
late 1960’s.
While working on the Norfolk Southern Railroad as
a mechanical inspector, an incident occurred that would
change Dennard’s life forever. Herbert tried to
enter the YMCA to play basketball with a friend and was
denied entry because he was black, despite the fact that
he was a member.
Herbert, Bert Bivins, and others were later
arrested for attempting to integrate the Macon
YMCA.
Tax Assessor Reunion:
Former Bibb County Chief Appraiser Calvin Hicks, Ayesha
Thornton, and Herbert Dennard
Dennard and
a group of his friends also formed the Macon Chapter of
the SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference),
arranging marches and boycotts for economic
equality.
Many local businesses began hiring blacks because
of the persistence of Dennard and his group of
activists.
Dennard and
Bennie E. Lester founded the
Medgar
Malcolm
Martin
Educational
Center in
Macon to teach black youth academic and
social skills and to assist adults with test taking
skills for finding jobs.
The Honorable Mayor C. Jack Ellis
presents Dennard with a proclamation naming September
22, 2007 as Herbert Dennard Day, as Dennard's daughter
Deborah looks on
In 1982,
Dennard founded the Georgia Informer, a monthly
newspaper to give blacks a voice in the community. In circulation
for 25 years, the Informer continues to promote black
businesses and churches and keeps the public informed of
what’s going on in the black community. He also hosts
the Herbert Dennard Show, a public forum for those who
wish to have their voices heard.
After a
delicious breakfast of bacon, sausage, grits, and
pancakes with all the fixings prepared by the Macon Fire
Department, the attendees settled down for an uplifting
program.
Hosted by the beautiful Leah Johnson, co-anchor
of 13 WMAZ-TV, the event was moving and spiritual, made
the more so by the voice talents of the Central High
School Mixed Choir, who sang “Elijah” and “Total Praise”
and the dancing skills of the Tubman Museum Dance
Ensemble.
Event Speaker, the
Rev. Rodney Lockett gave a wonderful description of what
real love is, using the Bible’s 1 Corinthians Chapter 13
and relating it to everyday, practical
living.
Left to right: Tubman Museum Executive
Director Andy Ambrose and Community Service Award
honoree Rev. Ronald Toney, Lizzie Chapel Baptist
Church
Others
recognized and awarded at Saturday’s event include the
Rev. Ronald Toney of Lizzie Chapel Baptist Church, who
received the NAACP’s Community Service Award for his
outstanding service for the improvement of the Macon
community through various events that bring to light the
suffering of others and provide solutions to the
problems of homelessness, drug addiction, domestic
abuse, and other pervasive realities in our
community.
Pam Williams and Cara Mae Smith were
awarded for Outstanding Dedication to the 2007
Membership Campaign and Mrs. Ann Boatwright-Thomas
awarded Youth Community Service Scholarships to Bernard
Grant and Rodney Culler.
Left to right: Newly elected Bibb County
Commissioner Lonzy Edwards converses with Rev. Leonard
Bell, Lizzie Chapel Baptist Church before the
ceremony
The
Honorable Mayor C. Jack Ellis was present along with a
host of other notable members of the
Macon
community.
Elected officials present included Macon City
Councilman Tom Ellington, City Councilwoman Elaine
Lucas, Bibb County Commissioner-elect Lonzy Edwards, and
Bibb County Commissioner Joe Allen. Also on hand
were Former Bibb County Chief Tax Appraiser Calvin
Hicks, Macon Housing Authority’s John Hiscox and Roslyn
Foster, among others. (See photos). Mayor Ellis
proclaimed September
22, 2007 as Herbert
Dennard Day.
